Was it called shame? The emotion that swelled in Miguel's chest upon realizing the chore boy he helped was actually the king of the land of Rikhill. Or was it his ego, proving he wasn't always right?
Miguel had a vague image of what the king of Rikhill was like from the rumors he garnered. There were many rumors circulated around the said king, but one thing that those rumors had in common was that the king's ambition was way beyond one's imagination. Considering this land was the center of trade because of its location, rumor has it the king took advantage of it not just to grow the kingdom's economy but his wealth.
This king… silence the rumors Miguel took with him with his clothes.
The king simply offered Miguel a smile before following his advisor to the commotion in the fort. Miguel, being left alone in the tent, followed them from behind.
There, a brawl between two lords from different kingdoms was quarreling about a stolen good. Miguel only listened for a straight thirty seconds, and he immediately grasped the situation.
Apparently, there was a missing crate from the other kingdom. They had suspected the other party because they had a good similar to them.
"Are you asking for war, eh?!" challenged the furious lord, grinding his teeth like a rabid dog. "Men! Prepare for battle! We'll take them on right here and now!"
"Hah!" the accused lord scoffed, snapping his fingers to signal his men to prepare for battle. "If that is what you want, be my guest! Men!!"
"My, my! Please put away the swords. Let us talk about this calmly and rationally." the king stepped in confidently, bearing the brightest smile as if he wasn't a bit angry at these men.
Any king would be mad in this situation. These lords were not in their land. For them to act and even start a brawl in another land was offensive to any king; even if this gets resolved, they attempted to harm the people of Rikhill.
But the King of Rikhill didn't react like any sovereign would. Instead, the king stood between the two forces.
Miguel scanned the surroundings, arching a brow upon noticing the royal knights weren't intervening. They were allowing their king to stand in the middle of two forces, knowing the tension between the two parties steadily grew. That was dangerous.
"Get away!" shouted the lord. "This person always nitpicks my crew! I let it slide in the past, but he is pushing his luck too much!"
"Haha! If there is anyone who extends their patience, that would be me! You thieves have been stealing our goods!" the other one argued, taking a step forward. "Do you think lightly of it?!"
"What did you say, eh?!?" the other lord also took a step forward.
"I said you people are thieves! That had been proven since a long time ago, claiming the west archipelago as yours!"
"Hah! So you're slandering us now?! The west archipelago had been ours in the first place! We simply reclaimed what is ours — that includes our ancestors and the livelihood of our fishermen whom you, people, had robbed from them!"
"The audacity!"
The two lords bickered, and each time, they took steps forward. They argued from the top of their lungs, closing in, until they sandwiched the king.
The king winced at the saliva splashing on either side of him. As they argued, it showed these two forces weren't just fighting about a missing crate. They had more unresolved issues, and the missing goods were simply a trigger.
"What?! Should we settle this in a duel?!" challenged the lord, who was being accused of stealing the crate.
SHING!
"Do you think I will back down?!" the other lord drew his sword angrily, ignoring the person between him and his opponent. "Sure! Come here so I can cut that sinful tongue of yours!"
The other lord also drew his sword, telling his men not to interfere. The other one also warned his men, wanting to settle this on their own. However, just before any clash would happen, the king, who was ignored throughout the argument, raised both his fists.
Without a sigh of fear at the swords from either side of him, the king knocked the back of their heads with his fists.
"You guys…" The side of the king's face twitched with the veins on his temple protruding. "... how can you draw your swords so easily, eh?!"
Both the lords winced in pain, holding the back of their heads as they took a step back. The knights from both forces and bystanders watched the king scold the lords as if he was simply scolding mischievous children.
"I understand there are unresolved issues here. However, have you not thought of the consequences of drawing your swords?!" the king continued to scold the lords while the other two were kneeling, still rubbing the back of their heads. "Your kingdoms already came to terms in the land dispute, and had chosen peace over power! By letting your temper get the better of you, you are simply devaluing the hard work of your kings to reach the peace your people deserved!"
The king went on and on with his lecture, truly furious at them. However, just listening to him, one could tell he wasn't angry that they ignored him. It didn't seem he even minded being ignored as the two continuously bantered, even when he interfered already.
His only concern was the waste of effort of the kings if these two fought. For sure, it would only reopen their nation's healing wounds.
Miguel watched how the situation cooled down, watching the king point fingers at the other members of each party. Miguel blinked. Things surely escalated from there because now, in a blink of an eye, even the soldiers from both parties were kneeling while the king lectured them for their short temper.
"So they knew who he was all along…" he whispered, seeing that others resumed their activities, and not giving the king or the two parties' attention.
Miguel assumed the lords ignored the king because they didn't know he was the king, but it turned out they already knew. But that was what baffled him. If they knew the man who intervened was the king, why did they continue?
'That man…'Miguel slowly shifted his eyes to the young king of the land of Rikhill. 'Don't he have any sense of dignity?'
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